Best Buyeo, Korea Day Trip with Kids: Hwangpo Sailboat, Baekje Cultural Festival & Gungnamji Pond

Over the Hangul Day holiday, which celebrates the Korean alphabet, I started planning a Buyeo day trip with our child.
We settled on a full day exploring Buyeo in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea.

The Baekje Cultural Festival happened to be on, so we worked that into the itinerary—and ended up having a much fuller day than I expected.
My step count? A whopping 15,000.

We rode a Hwangpo sailboat, visited Goransa Temple and Nakhwaam Rock, took photos in a cosmos field, enjoyed the Baekje Cultural Festival, and finished the evening at Gungnamji Pond!

With so many historic sites in Buyeo, I wondered whether our child might get bored. Turns out I needn’t have worried.
I was especially unsure about the climb to Nakhwaam Rock with a five-year-old, but our little one handled it surprisingly well.
If you’re planning to visit the Baekje Cultural Festival this weekend, here’s our route, along with parking tips and practical information for the Hwangpo sailboat ride.

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Buyeo Day Trip: 2026 Baekje Cultural Festival Information

This year’s 72nd Baekje Cultural Festival runs from October 3 to 11.
This weekend is your last chance to visit, so keep those dates in mind if you haven’t been yet.

https://blog.naver.com/jiy0_mond/224435030028

The Baekje Cultural Festival takes place across several locations, so it’s worth checking the program and venue locations before you go.
With kids, I’d check the operating hours for the activities and play areas, not just the performance schedule.
We arrived a little late, and quite a few booths had already closed.

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Our One-Day Buyeo Itinerary

Gudeurae Ferry Dock → Hwangpo sailboat → Goransa Temple → Nakhwaam Rock → cosmos field → Baekje Cultural Festival → Gungnamji Pond

We parked at Gudeurae Ferry Dock and bought round-trip tickets for the Hwangpo sailboat, a traditional-style boat with an ocher-colored sail.
After visiting Goransa Temple and Nakhwaam Rock, we took the boat back and walked about 1 km, or 0.6 miles, to the Baekje Cultural Festival grounds.
Once we’d enjoyed the festival, we headed to Gungnamji Pond for the evening.
This route involves quite a bit of walking, but thankfully our five-year-old kept up well.

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1. Hwangpo Sailboat in Buyeo: Gudeurae Ferry Dock Parking and Fares

Our first stop in Buyeo was Gudeurae Ferry Dock.

We entered Gudeurae Ferry Dock into the navigation app,
parked there, and headed over to catch the Hwangpo sailboat.
The parking lot was spacious, with plenty of room!

Hwangpo Sailboat Ticket Prices

We went with round-trip tickets.

The boat took us along the Baengmagang River, with lovely weather and beautiful scenery on either side.
It’s not every day our child gets to ride a boat like this, so that alone felt like an adventure.

I’d wanted to see Nakhwaam Rock while we were in Buyeo,
and taking the Hwangpo sailboat made the journey part of the fun.

There didn’t seem to be a fixed departure schedule.
We joined the line,
and once there were enough passengers, we boarded.
There seemed to be several boats operating,
so we didn’t have to wait very long.

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2. Goransa Temple and Nakhwaam Rock: A Manageable Climb with a Five-Year-Old

After getting off the boat, we stopped at Goransa Temple first.

It’s a small Buddhist temple below Nakhwaam Rock.
The grounds aren’t large, but the setting is beautiful.

There’s spring water said to take three years off your age,
so of course we happily had a drink.

(Please let me actually look three years younger!)

After a quick look around, we started up toward Nakhwaam Rock.
This was the part of our Buyeo outing I’d been most worried about.

With a five-year-old in tow, I wasn’t sure how we’d manage if there were lots of stairs or steep uphill stretches.
But our child climbed surprisingly well.

There are stairs and uphill sections, of course, but taking breaks along the way made it manageable.
Our little one walked the whole way.
Looking out over the Baengmagang River from Nakhwaam Rock, I was so glad we’d made the climb.

The site is associated with stories about the fall of the ancient Baekje kingdom,
so I gave our child a simple explanation that a kingdom called Baekje once existed here.
Our little one isn’t old enough to be especially interested in history yet, but seeing these places in person still feels worthwhile.

Tips for Visiting Goransa Temple and Nakhwaam Rock with a Five-Year-Old

• Stairs and uphill paths make this an awkward route for a stroller.

• Comfortable sneakers are a must for both you and your child.

• Allow roughly an hour to explore Goransa Temple and Nakhwaam Rock without rushing.

• Watch your step on the stairs coming down.

Our child managed more easily than I expected, but every child’s stamina is different, so use our experience as a reference rather than a guarantee.
If you’d rather skip Nakhwaam Rock and Goransa Temple,
you can simply stay on the boat!

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3. A Cosmos Field After Our Visit to Nakhwaam Rock

After coming down from Nakhwaam Rock, we came across a nearby field of beautiful cosmos flowers.
I hadn’t expected to see cosmos at all.

But they were in full bloom, and it felt wrong to just walk past.
We stopped for a little look around and some photos of our child.

Our little one was actually less impressed because of all the bees,

but I loved that an autumn visit to Buyeo came with scenery like this.
Sometimes the places you stumble upon leave more of an impression than the ones you planned to visit.

That was exactly how I felt about this cosmos field.
We’d come for Baekje’s historic sites and ended up enjoying fall flowers and taking plenty of unexpected photos, too.

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4. Baekje Cultural Festival Parking: Our 1 km Walk to the Grounds

After taking photos in the cosmos field, we headed toward the Baekje Cultural Festival grounds.
There were parking lots closer to the festival, so we initially considered driving over.
But when we asked staff on-site, they told us finding a space would be difficult.

Rather than risk another parking headache,
we decided to leave the car where it was and walk.
It was about 1 km, or 0.6 miles.

I wondered whether that might be a little far for a five-year-old, but it wasn’t as difficult as I’d imagined.
I was concerned because we’d already climbed up to Nakhwaam Rock, but thankfully our child kept walking happily.

Babies and younger toddlers may need a stroller or another way to get around!

Baekje Cultural Festival Parking Tips

This year’s festival is spread across central Buyeo, so how far you’ll walk depends on where you park.
Roads near the venues may be closed or congested,
so check the official parking information before setting out.
If you’re planning to ride the Hwangpo sailboat first, as we did,
parking at Gudeurae Ferry Dock and continuing from there is one option to consider.
Quite a few other visitors seemed to be doing the same thing.

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5. 2026 Baekje Cultural Festival: Inflatable Play Areas the Kids Will Love

Once we reached the Baekje Cultural Festival grounds, there was more to see than I’d expected.
Here’s the map a staff member gave us.

We looked at a pagoda symbolizing Baekje and various installations, and caught what looked like a procession of people in traditional clothing.

It’s not something our child sees every day, so that drew plenty of interest.
I’d assumed the Baekje Cultural Festival would focus mainly on historical exhibitions and performances.

Finding play facilities for kids was a welcome surprise.
The inflatable play area was our child’s favorite.

Even after climbing Nakhwaam Rock and walking all the way to the festival, our little one suddenly had plenty of energy to bounce around.
We spotted a hot-air balloon, too!
We wanted to try the hot-air balloon experience, but the line was so long that our family decided to skip it.

There was plenty to eat, too.
And lots of hands-on activities for children.

This year’s Baekje Cultural Festival has a varied program of performances, historical and cultural parades, exhibitions, and interactive experiences.

It only runs through this week!
If you have time over the holiday weekend, it’s well worth a visit.

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6. Gungnamji Pond in Buyeo: Worth Staying for an Evening Walk

After the Baekje Cultural Festival, our final stop was Gungnamji Pond.
Part of me wanted to head straight home after a full day out, but it felt like a shame to come all the way to Buyeo and miss it.
We went back and forth about whether to go,
and I’m glad we did.
It’s reportedly open 24 hours, and parking is free.

Gungnamji Pond Visitor Information

We visited in the evening,
and it had a completely different feel from my previous daytime visit

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Gungnamji is a pond believed to date back to the reign of King Mu of Baekje, with lovely paths for a leisurely stroll.
It’s said to be Korea’s oldest artificial garden—how amazing is that?

The evening atmosphere was peaceful, making it a lovely place to wind down after a busy day.
With our child along, though, we didn’t stay out too late.

Autumn evenings can get quite chilly, so bring a light jacket.
I was wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, and I definitely felt cold.
Between the Hwangpo sailboat, Nakhwaam Rock, and the Baekje Cultural Festival during the day, followed by an evening walk at Gungnamji, we really made the most of our time.

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7. Buyeo Day Trip with a Five-Year-Old: Our Verdict

This visit to Buyeo turned out even better than I’d hoped.
I’d especially worried about whether our five-year-old could manage Nakhwaam Rock, so it was a relief that the climb went so well.
With a Hwangpo sailboat ride, photos in the cosmos field, and inflatable playtime at the Baekje Cultural Festival, I think our child had a pretty great day, too.
Our Family’s Take on Each Stop

Just keep in mind that fitting all these stops into one day means more walking than you might expect.

If you’re visiting with kids, comfortable sneakers are essential,
and it’s best to take regular breaks along the way.
Parking around the festival venues can be tricky during the Baekje Cultural Festival, so I recommend checking parking locations and planning your route in advance.
We encountered road closures, too.

For us, parking at Gudeurae Ferry Dock, taking the Hwangpo sailboat, and then walking to the Baekje Cultural Festival worked well.

I used to think of Buyeo mainly as a destination for touring historic sites.
But visiting with our child showed me just how much it has to offer families.
On an earlier stay at Lotte Resort Buyeo, we’d only seen a little of the area.
This time, getting to see the cosmos flowers and enjoy the Baekje Cultural Festival made the visit even better.
It was an easy enough day out from Daejeon, South Korea, too.

If you’re planning to visit the Baekje Cultural Festival in Buyeo this weekend, consider a route linking the Hwangpo sailboat, Nakhwaam Rock, the festival, and Gungnamji Pond
for a full day of family exploring.